Mark Bonilla, the town clerk, was asked to vacate his office because he was convicted of a crime that involved a violation of his oath of office on July 25, officials said.

But DiLuzio said he felt the town could have handled the situation differently. He suggested that Ra should have contacted him first rather than Bonilla so the confusion over state law could have been avoided and Bonilla would not have been forced to leave on short notice.

“That’s not what they wanted to do,” he said. “They wanted to humiliate him.”

Susan Trenkle-Pokalsky, a town spokeswoman, said First Deputy Town Clerk Phil Guarnieri will assume Bonilla’s duties until further notice.

Bonilla would have been up for reelection in November. The Republican clerk, however, did not receive his party’s nomination. DiLuzio noted that he did not attend the nominating convention and did not expect to be nominated with his life being “completely on hold” because of the criminal case.

The town clerk provides many licenses, permits and certificates to town residents and business owners, conducts marriages and is the town’s official record keeper.